


Ghosts and Cinders

by Raspberry_hallucination



Category: Once Upon a Time (In Space) - The Mechanisms (Album), The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: A rose red goes rogue, F/F, Gen, This was meant to be entirely different, and also red hood is there, because she's great, but my brain didn't want it to be so here ya go ig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raspberry_hallucination/pseuds/Raspberry_hallucination
Summary: Cinders searched the stars for thirty years, and not once was she found. Alone without the armies of White, she searched in peace. How did she survive?Or - A general and his team hunt down the greatest enemy to the god-king Cole.
Relationships: Cinders/Rose (Once Upon A Time In Space)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	Ghosts and Cinders

**Author's Note:**

> Mild CW for oblique mentions of torture, body mutilation and a little swearing.

"General De Rais! this is a surprise. We didn't expect you till n-"

"I am here now." General Gilles 'Bluebeard' De Rais pushed past the safehouse guard and marched inside. He was followed by three hooded figures, their heights and builds visibly identical even under the obscuring garments.

"Why did you summon me here? It had better be important, for your sake." De Rais stroked his beard, brown streaked through with azure lines, as he glanced around the safehouse.

It was a desperate affair. peeling wallpaper hung off in thick strips, revealing rotten plaster beneath. The floors held only the memory of tiling with shards of ceramic stained yellow and green. beneath them lay the exposed wooden boarding of the house, worn but still intact. Silently, the three figures behind him slipped past and fanned out. They set up their rifles by the windows and combed the peeling walls for any traps.

"So-"One of the soldiers within began to speak, but he raised his hand, and they shut their mouth sharp. He remained in silence as the guard closed the door, as the atmosphere became increasingly heavy with dread. One of the trio nodded to the general, and so Gilles finally deigned to lower his hand, and invite the officer to speak.

"Sorry about the state of the house, sir! We had to relocate with haste following the corruption of our vehicles, and we haven't ha-"

"Corruption?" De Rais cut off the officer who had approached him. The woman, a young captain, sweat nervously as he fixed her with his gaze. These ones, they had no spines. No backbone.

"Y-Yes Sir! Our vehicles turned on us, the crews were locked out of the controls. The second division and our squadron of roses were wiped out within seconds, just before the rebel push."

"And that is your excuse for this... this desolation we find ourselves in now? You had no fallback emplacement? No other safe houses in reserve?"

"Bu- but sir, your command staff ordered us not to waste resour-"

"Are you trying to imply that I am responsible for your failures, Captain?" The general's voice froze over, his already harsh tone coalescing into an icy spike. He fixed her with a single look, 

"N - No General. I apologise General." She shrivelled beneath his gaze, hunching in on herself to shield against his anger.

"Your failures are yours and yours alone Captain. I would not forget that were I you."

"Of course General."

"Good. Now, to business. You Summoned me here?

"Yes, yes we did Sir!" the captain blurted, relieved to have escaped his scrutiny. "We identified a possible priority 0 target in the area, As well as another character of interest."

She led him to a crumbling doorway, The plain wooden frame splintered and rotten. He followed her into the room, ducking under the remnants of the door as he did

In the corner sat a small cluster of laptops and screens resting on a broken crate. A fresh faced young man sat next to it, his embroidery identifying him as a lieutenant.

Too young. De Rais had seen it before. Soldiers like these were flighty, prone to undue compassion and unwilling to sacrifice when ordered. That such softness left the military academy without being shattered was disgusting, a dereliction of duty on the drill sergeants. No rebel scum deserved mercy, and yet people like this would give it to them.

"Ummm, General?" the lieutenant squeaked, and De Rais focused on the weakling lieutenant.

"Yes?"

"We have the footage here. She was spotted on the city borders three days ago, which is when we alerted you."he gestured to one of the laptops. On it a recorded camera feed depicted a busy crowd milling around a series of market stalls. Among them, one figure moved from stall to stall with purpose.

Gilles stooped to gaze at the figure on the screen. She was tall, and clad in a dark, work overcoat. beneath, the general could just catch a hint of a long blue dress, stained almost grey with what looked like soot. Despite the crowds, she cut a lonely figure, haughty and apart from the seething mass of scum around her. Gilles could not help but approve. Then the figure's gaze darted up, right at the camera. She pulled a tiny device from beneath her coat, and the screen turned to static.

"This was the last you was of her? where in the city was this?"

"No- no general. We saw her again but a dozen hours ago, right after the attack."

"And you did not inform me?"

"Sir, we were here at the time, and you were already on your way. Broadcasting would have revealed our location." The captain stepped in from besides him, diverting his stare. From the corner of his eye, the Lieutenant melted in relief and shot a look of pure gratitude to his captain. She nodded, a microscopic tilt of the head as her eye line glanced over to him, then returned to general De Rais

"Hmph. When did you next see her?" The captain was right, and for that De Rais granted her forgiveness for her lack of deference. He turned back to the laptops as the younger officer scrambled with the controls.

The next feed displayed a grand and ruined cathedral. Great blocks of marble and steel scattered beneath the building, their emblems of the God-king Cole shattered and broken. Among the wreckage, half buried beneath twisted iron awning and reinforced glass lay the edge of a red cloak. The woman rushed in, joined by others wearing the ragtag uniforms of the resistance. Together, they hauled off the debris, and helped the red clad stranger to their feet.

"A waste of time and resources." De rais commented, pausing the feed. "Observe how many it took, and how long, to rescue a single one? a waste of effort and resources. Such inefficiency will cost these dissidents the war." At the other officers’ nervous nods, he resumed the footage. 

The figure in red bowed to the woman in blue, and then limped off, supported by another soldier. As soon as she was fully visible, the signal began to warp, camera flickering in twisted distortion. then it too fell dark.

"That's all we have, General."

"It is enough." He stood up straight, and turned to look. "It may well be her. If not, you will face the price of a false alarm. You will dedicate all remaining resources to finding her."

"Si-Sir, I really think we should also focus on the redcloak. We've heard rumours."

"Rumours? You think your precious rumours higher priority than the orders of his Divine Majesty? Do your rumours have the same reach as he who watches and knows and understands all?"

"Of course not, General."

"Be thankful I am gracious, captain. If you were beholding any other general before you and you said such treachery to them, you would be long dead."

"Thank you, general."

"Just so." The general turned, and nodded to the three figures of his retinue, who had wordlessly arrayed themselves behind him as he spoke.

"ESM-0 and 2, go to the market. The captain shall tell you where it is. Question anyone and everyone, and find where she is staying, but let none know you seek the ashen princess." The pair of roses saluted, and he turned to the third.

"ESM-3. Find the cathedral shown here. Do we have a location for such?"

"No sir. all metadata was cleared when the camera went offline, and none living now recognise it well enough. It may have been the old Church of Cole's Wisdom in the city of Raelda, but that is just my speculation, sir." The captain spoke up, and nervously adjusted her cap, as De Rais looked across at her.

"Very well. ESM-3, find your way to this Raelda, find this cathedral, and inspect the area to see if she is still present."

She saluted sharply, and Gilles laughed. 

"I doubt you will find much. These nobles are too used to comfort to travel. she will have found a place to stay when she arrived, and likely still be there. It will be a good training for you, Little wife."

He ignored the shocked glances between the Lieutenant and the captain at his words, and stepped forward towards the three. ESM-3, newer and less experienced than her sisters, shrank back a little, and Bluebeard relented. Perhaps he should not have told her what had happened to her predecessor.

"Maintain radio silence until necessary, understood?"  
They nodded in unison.  
"Good. Now go, all of you! I shall remain here to oversee this hunt."

"Of course general." A sharp salute, and a replying nod, and the three rose reds were gone, donning their hoods and disappearing into the night

The alley was dark and shaded, a long forgotten vestige between two terraces. Adorned in a filthy parka and ragged blue pants, her red hair tied back under her hood, ESM 3 shuffled out, shaking a can piteously as she did. She glanced out under her hood, and saw the ruined grandeur of an ancient cathedral, its awnings twisted and collapsed before it.

"ESM-3. Location identified. Moving in." No confirmation, but she expected none.

The square before her was busy in the afternoon heat. People milled around looking at the chaos, and ESM-3 assessed her options.  
The buildings around the church were squat structures, with few entrances or exits that were not easily visible and steep rooves. The church, however...

ESM-3 carried on her shambling walk, strolling past all those who jolted away to avoid 'the filthy hobo'. She moved slowly and aimlessly past the chatting throng, the gawkers gazing at the destruction and the khaki'd rebels still taking to the edifices of Cole with crowbars.

Despite herself, she couldn't find it in herself to hate them. they were just misguided. They didn't see the light of Cole as she did, growing in His care and taught by his tutors. They did not see what the just punishment for the traitor was, or the reward of the righteous. They were blind, and she only prayed they would open their eyes before her sisters would have to cleanse them.

She reached an intact part of the cathedral wall, away from the cordon, and sank down, Setting her can down before her. Despite herself, ESM-3 could not help but relax slightly as she settled in. Despite being so far from Cole's troops and the general, she felt mysteriously at ease.

The day passed in relative peace for her as she watched the crowd. With no one to hold her accountable, the drive to question passers by rested only lightly on her mind. These people were on edge already, and she didn't want to start a slaughter in the town square if someone got suspicious after all. No, better to watch here, and rest, and just see what would happen.

"Y'alright there miss?" A gruff, kindly voice grunted from the edge of her vision. She glanced over as an ageing man slowly picked his way through the rubble towards her, on the other side of the cordon to the rest of the public.

He was disheveled, with long matted hair and an uncombed beard. In his hand an ancient wooden stick carried him across the ruin, and he stooped low with the weight of his kyphosis.

"'S not safe here, yunno? Could be hit by summat." He scratched his side through a hole in his garb, the ragged vestments of a priest of Cole.

"Oh" Her voice came out brighter than she planned, and she coughed, harshening it.

"Oh, don't worry about me mister, I'll be fine. Look out for yerself. Can't be safe, being a Cole loyalist here."

He laughed, loud and short.  
"Loyalist? Lass, I organised this uprising! We struck when I rang the bells! I've nothing to fear from these jolly bastards" To prove his point, he turned and brandished his stick at the crowd, and a few of the soldiers cheered and whooped in return.

"Oh." She didn't know what else to say. That a priest would turn their back on the light was unthinkable in itself. That they would go so far as to aid the resistance? How far had the rot spread that not even priests were safe?!The rebels had woven a web of lies and deceit far beyond what she'd thought.

"Name's Gildas. Gildas Simo. What d'you go by, lass?"

She froze in place. What to say? her callsign would be a dead giveaway, but she had planned no alibi.

"ESM-er..E! Yea, that's it. Esme!" he raised an eyebrow, and she flushed. "Sorry. Been a while since anyone cared enough to ask." 

"I'm sorry to hear that Esme. If you want, I could put you up in the dormitory? They got locks on the doors and ain't no one else staying there now." He gestured briefly to the havoc.

"Thank you, that's very kind. I think I'm alright here though."

"Hmmph." the man grunted. "Suit yerself. I'll get ya some food. Stay there, ok?" He shuffled back into the ruins of the cathedral, and ESM-3 moved back to watching the crowd.

A flash of blue under a heavy black coat. She got up, and slowly followed, slipping her hand into her parka to retrieve the snub pistol she had hidden there.

"This is ESM-3. Suspect sighted. Tailing."

"Acknowledged, 3. Keep in touch." The voice responded through the implant in her left ear, the implant that forever kept her with her sisters and the general.

The figure moved away, turned into an alley. ESM-3 for the first time saw her face.

Curly brown hair framed a perfectly rounded face. Hazel eyes darted hither and thither, eyes laced with tiny lines of deeper dark. Eyes that touched upon her, briefly, before moving on. A single beauty spot rested above her nose stood bold against the lines that wore her face.

And Esme's head exploded into agony. She briefly noticed the woman disappearing before her legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees. Swirling screaming voiced tore her mind to shreds. A thousand flashes of memory a thousand kisses a thousand longing stares and shared laughter and a moss covered stone and pain and grief and a stone and love and fear and

...ESM-3! Report! What is your status ESM-3?" Dimly, she returned to her senses. She was lying on the ground, a few passers by shaking her. The wire in her ear still barked at her, Bluebeard's harsh voice grating her numb mind. She rallied her shaky flesh, and stood on wobbly legs. A passer by handed her her can, now full, and she accepted it with a distracted nod. 

"ESM-3! Report!" Again, the command came.

Waving off the concerned onlookers, ESM-3 staggered to a nearby wall, and braced against it for support.

"Positive - positive identification. Suspect confirmed as Cinders."

"Kill her, ESM-3. Now. We will maintain an active link until you do."

"Understood General." She took a deep breath, and followed down the alley, drawing her gun as she did.

"Rose! I thought it was you!"

She was waiting for her. In her dirty coat and soot stained dress, There was no doubt. It was cinders, escaped prisoner and Archtraitor of the resistance, second only to White herself.

And she stood before Esme, her hands outstretched, The most beautiful look of joy she had ever seen spreading across her face.

And then she saw the gun, and the age, and the confusion. And the joy melted away. Esme mourned that loss, heart aching in a way she had never known it could.

"You're a rose red, aren't you?" Slowly she backed away down the alley.

It was a farce. They both knew it. Esme was stronger, faster, and far better trained. Even if it wasn't a dead end, even if Esme couldn't see the solid iron gate behind Cinders that cut off her escape, there was no way she could outrun a bullet, or outfight a red.

A single nod, a single word.  
"Yes."

"Kill her! Now!" Her implant buzzed again. She ignored it. Still watching Cinders as she backed away. Her back hit the bars behind her, and she panicked, casting around for another exit, desperately rattling the padlock that kept the gate closed.

Esme approached, slowly. A shot from this range would always hit, always be fatal. What was she doing? She raised the pistol, aligned the sights. 

Cinders was watching her, resigned at last. She watched Esme as the red approached her. She made no move to escape as she stopped, pistol a mere foot from her face. Esme was certain she'd move now. rush her, try to take the gun. She'd struggle, and Esme would win, and it would be over. She had to try, to run, or tackle her, or fight. Please, she begged the woman. Fight.  
But cinders just stood, watching her.  
Why was she doing this? The gun was raised, and with movements like molasses, her finger moved over the trigger.This was the biggest mistake she would make. She squeezed her eyes closed, unwilling or unable to witness her actions.

As she jerked the gun down and to the side, and shot out the gate's lock.

Cinders started, and looked down at the shattered padlock just as Esme opened her eyes. They locked eyes, the woman and the soldier. Esme could do nothing but stare in shock. she stood frozen in disbelief at her own actions as Cinders raised a single hand, and lightly brushed her hand in unspoken thanks. Her fingertips scorched Esme's knuckles as they brushed over them.

"Thank you." two words, barely whispered. Esme could not even nod in reply. She had committed treason of the highest order, had good as plunged a blade directly into her gracious king's back. But the woman smiled at her, soft and hesitant. Suddenly Esme could not remember what she had done wrong, could not remember why she was supposed to be guilty. It was just her and Cinders, standing between a moss covered stone in the open sun.

"ESM-3? We heard a shot, Is she dead? ESM-3 report!"

Bluebeard's fucking voice ripped away the warmth and peace, and she was back in the darkness of the alley, shadowed by buildings and with nothing but filthy paving tiles below.

"You should go. There were more of us."

"Come with me." An offer, a fleeting dream. For a second she imagined the joy and warmth and discovery such a life could bring, voyaging the stars with this brave, beautiful exile.

Her comms screeched again, wrapping her in bonds of iron and pulling her back, screaming, into reality.

"No. They'll find you if I'm with you. Go. Please, please. Go" Tears sprung unbidden as she shattered her hope with her own words.

Cinders understood. She moved forward, past her limp hands still holding the pistol. Gently, she kissed the rose, a single touch on her forehead as Esme stood there frozen. Then she turned, and fled down the alley, through the dark gate and into the streets beyond.

And Esme was alone.

She threw aside the gun and left the alley, back into the square.

Her comms was screaming, spouting filthy litanies of hatred against her worthless corpse. Even her sisters joined in, shock and disbelief in their tones. They must have heard her exchange with the princess over the comms.

"Target escaped. Pursuit failed." She had no more to say to them, for how could Cole accept service from a traitor? How could Cole be worthy of service, if he sought to kill one such as Cinders?

Esme had never felt surety before now. Whoever Cinders was, whatever she had done, no just god would punish her actions.

Bluebeard's voice cut above the disbelieving chatter.

"ESM-3. Return to the safe house. You have betrayed The Just King, and You will suffer for it."

"Understood." Was this how her sister had felt, when she had followed Bluebeard into his chamber and never returned? Between the screams and the pain, did she too accept what was to come? ESM-1 was long dead, even her corpse lost to Bluebeard's sadism. Esme prayed she had found peace in the end, as she went to follow her predecessor's path.

CRASH!

A great noise resounded throughout the square, and Esme looked around in alarm. The priest, Gildas, stood beside a crumpled effigy of Cole. It lay in shattered pieces, crumpled face first on the stone. By the ropes that wrapped around its neck and torso, the crowd had pulled it down, ridding the ancient building of all marks of the King. 

King Cole's great shadow faded and broke as the crowed ripped the iron to shreds with crowbars, surging around the behemoth with a furious joy. Esme pushed towards the crowd, her mind set.

In the centre of the chaos stood Gildas, ripping apart the crown as best he could. He spotted her striding towards him, and turned with a smile.

"Ah, lass! I looked for you, but you were gone. Want that food now?"

"Gildas, look. I'm not who you think. I'm, I'm," She gestured at her cap and the red hair underneath.

To her shock the old man just laughed.  
"You think I didn't realise that 'Esme' was a rosie? Pull the other one! But ya looked scared and lost anyway, so I thought I'd lend a hand."  
She stood dumbfounded, staring at the old man, as he continued to speak.

"So anyway, you got a real name?"

"Oh, well, no. Esme's fine."

"Alright then Esme. why'd you come running over."

She opened her mouth, then closed it. Her implant had been silent far too long.

"Can't speak." She gestured to her ear. "Implant. They're listening."

The man nodded, and from the folds of his robe drew a knife.

"You want to wait, or do it the fast way?"

The prospect of Bluebeard, of her sisters, sharing her mind for even a second longer washed over her, and Esme chose.

"The fast way." Gildas nodded, eyes grave.

"Hold still lass." She nodded, closed her eyes. The searing pain lanced through her head, and she heard no more.

When she finally awoke, she was in a dark room. Sat on a chair across from her was a strange woman, dozing slightly. Her head felt heavy, eyes unfocused, and Esme reached up to touch the bandages cocooning her face.

"Hello?" a quiet untested word for this liminal world. Nevertheless, the woman jerked awake.

"Oh hello! her voice was bright and airy. She moved towards Esme, revealing a narrow face and a pair of restless green eyes. She smiled at the rose, and leaned back slightly to give her space.

"Who, who are you?"

"Oh, no one important. Call me Robin!" She shrugged slightly, shifting the edge of a bright red cloak over her shoulder as she did.

"How long?" Esme asked, struggling to sit up.

"Have you been out?" at Esme's nod, Robin glanced at an old grandfather clock tucked against the wall. "A few hours. We moved you to one of the rooms in the cathedral. seemed safer there"

"Oh. Thank you. I'm Esme, by the way." She murmured distractedly. Her sight was returning, and she could see the dark panelled wood that lined the walls. They were old and scratched, but immaculately clean. Well cared for. 

"Nice to meet you Esme. I have to say, it's unusual to see a rose that's not trying to kill me, much less one by herself!"

"The others!" She shot up, her grogginess fading away in panic. "There are others! they knew where this was, they'll be coming for Cinders!"

Robin moved to her side, offered an arm. 

"Don't worry. We know. If you come with me, you can help us stop them. Who's Cinders?"

"The woman? In the blue dress." Esme took it, clasping her forearm, and swung herself out of the bed. She almost stumbled, but the muscle beneath her fingers tensed, and within a second Esme lurched forward, collapsing gently against her compatriot's solid shoulder.

"Oh yes I remember! She helped rescue me. We don't know where she is right now, but she appears occasionally. If they do go hunting, they'll come here first, so we can stop them here." Her free hand hovered over Esme's shoulder in silent question, and when she nodded at the taller woman, slipped under her shoulders. Letting go of her arm, Esme let herself be gently steered into the woman's side, and together the two began to shuffle out the room.

"We've got the numbers, and experiences  
against the rosies. No offence, by the way."

"None taken."

"that's good! We're still having trouble finding where you came from though, so if there are more we should probably go."

"Only two. And I know where the safehouse is, but it's networked. If you attack it, they can request an orbital strike."

Robin wrangled the heavy oak door with her elbow, lodging a foot in the crack.

"Networked you say? Well that is a problem. Still, I think we can set a few dogs loose in the system. Don't worry, Esme. We'll be ok." Her voice was strangely singsong, as if laughing at a joke she alone knew.

Outside the room, the father sat reading. He looked up as the two passed, and said something Esme didn't hear.

"I think so." Robin answered for her. "Hey Esme?"

"Mmmh?" The sleepiness was returning as the adrenaline wore off, and she burrowed slightly into her partner's side.

"Are you ok to come with us? We want to take you somewhere safe, but it's a bit of a walk."

Even exhausted and dizzy from blood loss, Esme wasn't a fool. She knew they'd most likely imprison her, at least for a while. She knew she would likely never see Cinders again. She knew how dangerous her sisters were, how little short of a miracle would save many in the crowd she saw today.

But as she stepped back out of the ruined corridor into the vast sky once more, tucked into the side of her new friend, She looked around, at the dandelion weeds growing out and flowering amid the church, at the crumbled edifices of her old god. And she couldn't help but hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are much loved!
> 
> Also please don't hate me for the name puns.


End file.
